Anyone else notice this phenomenon?
I have an uncle who lived with my divorced grandmother well into his twenties, even when he was working and earning a living. He moved to another state, and is in his late forties now, and still unmarried!
And lest you think he's some black sheep who is getting all the benefits of marriage with none of the risks -- he's a traditional Catholic and doesn't have any girlfriends either.
I know of two other cases of baby boomer women who got divorced (one was a troubled marriage where the man ended up dying) who have a "youngest son" who is currently single.
In one of the cases, the other siblings married about 5 years ago (and this "youngest son" is as old as those siblings were when they got married, so age isn't an issue).
It just seems like that youngest child -- especially boys -- are most affected by a divorce, and that many of them never marry.
Does it have to do with the young son feeling like he needs to take care of his mother? Does it serve as an obstacle to him going off and marrying/starting a family of his own?
There seems to be something to it, because I've seen it in several cases. That youngest son just doesn't court women the way the rest of the sons. Either he doesn't try, or tries barely at all.
Matthew